NYC: The Met Limiting Pay-As You-Wish Admission Policy

Current pay-as-you-wish policy will continue for all New York State residents and students from Connecticut and New Jersey

Revised policy will charge mandatory admission fee for visitors from outside New York State

All full-priced admissions tickets will be honored for three consecutive days at The Met’s three locations

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This what they say:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced today a revised admissions policy. Under the updated policy, which received approval from New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs, admission for residents of New York State and students from New Jersey and Connecticut will continue to be pay-as-you-wish, and visitors from outside New York State will be required to pay a mandatory admission fee. The Met projects that the updated policy will affect 31 percent of all Museum visitors. The Met also announced that it will honor full-price admissions tickets for three consecutive days, giving visitors more time to experience each of the Museum’s three locations. All children under 12 will continue to be admitted for free. The Museum is now developing guidelines and practices for the revised policy, which will be implemented on March 1, 2018.

“The Met and the City are partners, and we are grateful to Mayor de Blasio and Commissioner Finkelpearl for their thoughtful review of this policy and for working with us to ensure that The Met will continue to serve all of New York and our visitors from around the nation and the world for generations to come,” said Daniel H. Weiss, President and CEO of The Met. “We are committed to achieving excellence in all that we do, and we are determined that the Museum will remain accessible to as many visitors as possible while it also thrives as a financially stable institution.”

Mandatory admission for visitors from outside New York State will match the current suggested admissions prices: $25 for adults, $17 for seniors, and $12 for students. Admission for all children under 12 will remain free. Special exhibitions, guided tours, and gallery talks will also continue to be free with Museum admission.

“The Metropolitan Museum of Art is an essential part of the fabric of New York City, and its mission to connect people to creativity, knowledge, and ideas is more important today than ever before,” said New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Tom Finkelpearl. “This updated admissions policy will give the Museum a solid foundation to continue to grow its programming and engage New Yorkers from all corners of the city and visitors from around the world, while providing a unique opportunity to direct public resources to underserved communities throughout the five boroughs.”

The Museum is extending the pay-as-you-wish policy to students from New Jersey and Connecticut so that all tri-state students may have access to The Met. For the first year of this revised policy, The Met’s Board of Trustees will provide funding to enable this access. “Introducing the next generation to art and cultural heritage is at the core of The Met’s mission, and we’re honored to be able to help ensure that all area students can visit, learn, and engage with the Museum as they would like,” said Daniel Brodsky, Chairman of the Museum’s Board of Trustees. The Museum will seek philanthropic support to fund this student program in future years.

“Most important, today’s announcement ensures that we keep The Met open and accessible for all New Yorkers and their families, while guaranteeing that one of our cornerstone cultural institutions is financially sound for the foreseeable future,” said New York City Council Cultural Affairs and Libraries Committee Chair Jimmy Van Bramer.

“First and foremost, NYC & Company believes in a strong cultural community,” added Fred Dixon, President and CEO of NYC & Co. “As such, we feel that visitation to the City will continue to thrive despite a move to charge admission to tourists at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. This pricing approach is also not uncommon. Given that there is already reduced admission at The Met for seniors, students, and children, by any measure, the $25 admission fee is still an extraordinary value to access the world’s greatest encyclopedic collection of art.”

New York City Council Member Keith Powers, whose district includes The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Breuer, said, “Policies that help our cultural institutions thrive are something we can all get behind. With its new admissions policy, The Met can continue attracting visitors from around the world to our city, while keeping its doors open to everyone who calls New York home.” NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, added, “Art brings people together, and now, more than ever, it is crucial that we ensure that art is as accessible as possible. That is why The Metropolitan Museum of Art is revising its admissions policy, so generations to come will have access to one of the most preeminent art institutions in the world.”

Kim Stuart Swidler

2 Responses

$25 is still a deal for what you get. Seems a bit weird to go from, pay what you want but we recommend $25 to you will pay $25. But I don’t know what they were actually averaging before this. It would be great if everybody got a chance to see it at least once, and it looks like it will remain as is for the current locals. They could also do something like the Bronx zoo, where there’s the one “free” day a week, and people can choose to go on one of the other days if they want to avoid the crowds on discount day.

I went there last year with my two girls. My parents, who we were staying with and live just outside of the city, somehow got us free passes to the Met and the Museum of Natural History across the park, which is also pay as you wish. I find it funny that they even make free passes for such a place when it’s pay what you want anyway. I guess the purpose is to go without guilt?